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That's awful, DSB!

Here is a parking website to check out: http://www.apparelyzed.com/parking/

 What about blue spaces on the public streets?  How many are required to be provided on each city block?  We have so little street parking as it is in San Francisco and the able-bodied are sometimes almost hostile towards those of us with parking placards/disability license plates, as if we're getting something we're not entitled to.  

 

If there are, say, five wheelchair residents in one (city) block, shouldn't they have more blue street parking spaces than, say, a neighborhood where few if any disabled folks live?  And shouldn't any commercial district, public office areas, hospital and school zones, etc., all be provided with ample blue street parking spaces, since there is apt to be more need for them?

 

Justin 

Where I live does have street level blue spaces and laws where I live also allow me to park free any where on publick streets as long as I have the place card for how ever long. I would advise again checking with state and local laws and how accessable they are in reguards to parking but I would think upon checking and I do get to SF often that they have the same thing. 

 Liesl not really and it is just how it is for me. But I am taking a different approach to things the laws are there and we are also pushing for more. My approach however is I work supporting Architects and well just about any thing build required them so I am working with the partners where I am to try and include working with the locak AIA office to put together an acredted program for architects on how to design not only to the code and ADA laws but to consider things like usability and access from a user standpoint not like it's a blank slate but when it is in use by everyone. Since I am sort of a new disabled person I simply have not seen this approach architects design our woulds and planners etc and so far I seem to be the only one talking to the AIA in this manner.

That's great, DSB!

Calculating exactly how many parking spots is definitely a tedious undertaking.  Recently I have been involved with a couple of cases in which this was the primary issue.  Short of rolling around a parking lot for many hours with a clipboard, the technique that I would would be to use the Google maps feature right on your computer.  Once you get to the location of the parking my that you are interested in, switch to the geographical photographic image.  You can zoom in closely and it is quite easy to count the number of spaces, including the designated handicapped accessible spots.  The only difficult it is differentiating the wider, van accessible locations.  Those I have found too difficult to observe and count.  Even without this type of information, this can give you a quick and dirty assessment of basic ADA compliance.

 

Hope this helps,

 

T.K. Small, Brooklyn, New York

Thanks, TK! You can't tell which are handicapped on google maps for this location, unfortunately. I think I am going to have to try Diamondogg's method.